Tape products (e.g., paper, decorative ribbons, adhesive tape for office use, medical use, etc.), some adhesive backed, some not, are commonly supplied in roll form and then dispensed by unwinding from the roll. In many dispenser configurations, the roll, which in some instances comprises an anular core and in other instances is coreless, is mounted on a spindle about which the roll turns as tape is removed therefrom. In many dispensers, the dispenser is configured to support the spindle and roll mounted thereon in desired position and orientation for dispensing, e g , easy finger access to the end of the tape to permit gripping, convenient proximity to a cutting blade to permit easy separation of a desired portion of the tape from the rolled portion, etc.
While some dispenser configurations are configured for single rolls of tape, others are configured for two or more rolls. Illustrative examples include U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,486 (Miller), U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,713 (Lash), and D470,181 (Jour). If the plurality of rolls of tape is intended to dispense independently, interference between adjacent rolls must be prevented such that tape from a single roll may be dispensed without simultaneously causing tape to undesirably come off an adjacent roll. If adjacent rolls are not spaced apart, as sheet material is dispensed from a first roll that roll may drag against an adjacent roll causing quantities of tape to be removed undesirably from the adjacent roll. Illustrative measures taken to achieve this include: using independent spindles for each roll, as disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,352,445 (Pinckney), D448,415 (Huang), D504,15 (Crawford et al.), and D524,376 (Flynn); placing spacer disks between adjacent rolls on a single spindle, as disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 634,589 (Russell), U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,178 (Huang), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,060 (Gomes et al.); or providing a protruding element such as a radial boss on the spindle to act as a divider, as disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,791 (Conran et al.). While the apparatuses disclosed to date may offer acceptable performance in some aspects, none provides the desired range of performance, ease of use, and low cost.
The need exists for improved spindles and dispensers for tape products.